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I took my 90 year old grandmother out shopping last weekend, and she mentioned that there was a book she wanted to pick up, but she couldn't remember the name of the book or the author. She did, however, remember several details about the book:

• it was the author's second book
  
• it was related to cooking somehow
  
• it involved a Mennonite-style religious group
  
  So, we asked the clerk at the lovely little independent bookstore if she knew any books like that, and after some thought, she produced a copy of Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen. Perfect! But... my grandmother looked at it, then shook her head and said no, that wasn't it. She then asked if I would drive her around to a couple of other bookstores to look for it, but I ruthlessly suppressed my beta instincts and said "Grandma, if you ask one of your friends to find out the name of the author or the title of the book, I'll be happy to go pick it up with you, but I don't think it would do any good to just wander around looking for it if you don't actually know what you're looking for."
  
  I stopped in to visit my grandmother again on Tuesday, and she proudly pointed to a new book on her coffee table. "That's the book I was telling you about," she exclaimed, "the one you couldn't find!"
  
  What the hell, Grandma.

I love to see service stories like this. It's about doing what's right, not what's policy, and you definitely did that. If you have't read it yet, try picking up the Zappos book and giving it a read (or even passing it along to the boss folk). Has some great info on things like this.

I think you know next to nothing about "the system" nor the people who are part of it. Who, exactly, do you think of as "the poor"? It's not just lazy trailer-park dwellers or single parents anymore. Being poor can mean being a full-time student working multiple part-time jobs. Or not being able to work due to mental or physical health issues. Or even having a job and making so little that you can't make ends meet. It's nice you and your wife have fairly good jobs but I bet you couldn't begin to identify the actual poor among you. This is a good look into how one can work and still be destitute: [Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America] (http://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Dimed-Not-Getting-America/dp/0312626681/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376894758&sr=8-1&keywords=nickel+and+dimed+on+not+getting+by+in+america)

When I was working full-time making what I considered to be a quite good salary, I still qualified for yearly fuel assistance and I was damn thankful it existed. Now I'm thankful that I qualify for EBT. They know all the details of my situation and they made the decision to give me assistance. I don't get unemployment and I don't get disability...not that it's really any of your business.

I have the internet because I pay for it.

You don't know me, my life or my situation, and I honestly couldn't care less what you think about me.

My company gives out face masks once we are CPR trained. I recommend either asking your company to buy these or get some yourself. Would have saved his mouth washing haha.

Seriously, good for him though. Scary thing to do but he knew his job and was very honorable and admirable in his duties. Hats off.

Edit: heres an amazon link to those masks. 10pcs CPR Face Shield Mask Keychain Ring Emergency Kit CPR Face Shields for First Aid or AED Training https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QMV8QTX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_moFADbMX2JR6J

It's an old one -- not in a lot of the modern collections. I actually just dug out the book that I had growing up, which definitely features a lot of older (and therefore darker/weirder) versions of the nursery rhymes. For instance: "There was an old woman / who lived in a shoe / she had so many children / she didn't know what to do. / She gave them some broth / without any bread / and whipped them all soundly / and put them to bed." (As opposed to "and kissed them all fondly / and put them to bed" or variations on that theme!)

Anyway, here is a shot of the illustration in question (although I swear it was more bosom-y when I was little, or else maybe I just thought Grandma was fat?): http://i.imgur.com/XMuXDnh.jpg?1

I was looking into being an architect before I got into Computer Engineering. It is very surprising how universal interaction design is.

The psychology of how humans work is just as useful in designing floorplans as it is in designing websites.

In Computer Science, the idea of "design patterns" actually originated from the writings of a building architect: http://www.amazon.com/The-Timeless-Building-Christopher-Alexander/dp/0195024028

Sounds like the "job" would have been more like this,


http://www.amazon.com/Room-A-Novel-Emma-Donoghue/dp/0316098329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398896017&sr=8-1&keywords=room+book

A regular eh?

I'd hand him this book the next time he tried to lecture saying I believe you need this more than I.

https://www.amazon.com/Etiquette-Dummies-Sue-Fox/dp/0470106727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503817178&sr=8-1&keywords=Etiquette+For+Dummies

The Encyclopædia Moronica, Volumes I and II, and the Encyclopædia Moronica Century.

All told, I've submitted somewhere in the region of 160 Tales From Tech Support over the last 10 or 11 months.

eBook links:
Vol I
Vol II
Century

You should have sold her something like this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AXH7MG

Your sign idea sounds great, and might help in the future. maybe.

As someone who hasn't worked for anyone but my customers for more than twenty years the old adage is the watchword: happy customer tells one, unhappy tells ten. And that's why a business owner absorbs crap.

More here: http://www.amazon.com/Satisfied-Customers-Three-Friends-Angry/dp/038552272X

There are actually people from /r/talesfromtechsupport that have done that. airz23 (aka Captain Cliff Hanger)has released an ebook about his adventures and /u/gambatte actuall has two. So, it's entirely possible for this guy to pull off something similar. He may have only one story so far, but I can tell that a lot of people would buy an ebook from OP if he made one.

Its a curriculum developed by Singapore for their country's elementary students. This is the US version of the texts that Ive seen in schools here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0669010847/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1519881706&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=math+in+focus&dpPl=1&dpID=51C12IzznQL&ref=plSrch

>Remember that and build a new type of camera that can reside in a sprinkler head.

Already done

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swann-PRO-430-Sprinkler-Covert-Camera/dp/B002BDU8NS

Actually a thing (I used to sell these)!

There are RF detectors you can buy that tell you if there are cameras or anything.

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Wireless-Signal-Bug-Detector/dp/B000AXH7MG

That one's $12. I know the Radio Shack near my house sells these so it's entirely possible that this store did or that she had seen one in an actual local store.

Animorphs?

What is the name of this book?

US too. http://www.amazon.com/Putting-Food-By-Fifth-Edition/dp/0452296226

Alan Dean Foster - Codgerspace

http://www.amazon.com/Codgerspace-Alan-Dean-Foster/dp/0441718515

Could the customer have possibly been looking for this book?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0375867821?pc_redir=1411898026&robot_redir=1

>I asked him to leave me alone, he didn’t. So I made up some bs story that I left something behind and ran back into work.

You did well.


The Gift of Fear

https://www.amazon.com/Gift-Fear-Survival-Signals-Violence/dp/0440226198